The City of Colorado Springs Office of Innovation announced the launch of a program to install 26 multi-modal counters, primarily in the downtown area. These sensors assist City and local leaders with reporting requirements and data collection for multi-model traffic.
“Stakeholders expressed their desire to collect better data on how many people are traveling through these areas of the city and how people are getting there,” said Carlos Tamayo, the City’s innovation manager. Stakeholders include the downtown businesses community and City departments such as Traffic Engineering, Economic Development, Planning, and Parks. “The City needs more multi-modal data for traffic operations, the ability to provide data to potential and current businesses, and for gaining general knowledge about the use of public parks, trails, and public rights-of-way,” he said.
Tamayo added it’s important to note the sensors, installed on City and utility-owned light poles, do not collect any personally identifiable information.
The sensors detect and categorize moving objects while distinguishing between pedestrians, bicycles, cars, trucks, and buses. In the future, the company selected to provide the sensors, Numin, plans to enable the sensors to detect electric scooters. The sensors count each moving object, providing the direction of travel, a date and time stamp, and mode of transportation.
Currently, five sensors have been installed, with the remaining 21 scheduled for installation over the next two months. They have a predicted life span of 7-10 years. “Innovation plans to relocate the sensors after approximately one year of collecting data in these initial placements,” Tamayo said. “We will continue to move the sensors, collect, and analyze data, and provide that data analysis to stakeholders until the sensors reach end-of-life. We hope that the sensors enable many data-driven decisions to be made for each of our stakeholders through the years.”
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